50 pc increase in consumers buying grocery online post note ban

The days of heading to the supermarket are over as people now trade trolleys for home delivery services. New research from CashKaro.com, cashback and coupons site, takes a closer look at the cultural shifts in the way millennials stock their kitchen cupboards after demonetization.

The online grocery industry seems to be an unintended beneficiary of the move as the customer cannot postpone essential purchases for their home. The survey indicated that more than 50 per cent of the respondents have started buying grocery/daily items online after demonetization and a quarter would like to start soon.

BigBasket, Grofers, Godrej Nature’s Basket, ZopNow and Grocermax are voted among top hyperlocal sites. BigBasket ranks top in overall service (37 per cent), Grofers leads in packaging (34 per cent), Grocermax has the best prices (32 per cent), ZopNow in delivery convenience (34 per cent) and Godrej Nature’s Basket for fresh products (38 per cent).

The main reason consumers cite for shopping grocery/daily items online is that it allows cash-free transactions (31 per cent) and offers better deals and discounts (25 per cent). This is followed by the fact that online shopping gives consumers more convenience than visiting stores (24 per cent) as well as offers the luxury of delivery time slots as per own availability (10 per cent).

Added innovations such as subscription-based service may have a significant impact on the growth in online grocery shopping, as 44 per cent of respondents said they would like to avail this service considering their busy schedule. 79 per cent of total respondents said they have grocery applications installed in their mobile phones out of which 33 per cent have more than one app. However, 15 per cent of these app buyers said they still like to order via desktop.

On the survey Co-Founder, CashKaro.com, Swati Bhargava said, “It’s very interesting to notice this changing consumer behaviour towards shopping grocery. The shift from superstores/ local vendors to online shopping channels is certainly visible as a lot of users have started to shop for daily items online after demonetization. The survey is also an indication that while the changing lifestyle coupled with long working hours has shifted grocery purchasing trend from offline to online format, attractive offers by grocery players are also wooing the consumers to opt for online purchases. We at CashKaro also have seen a 2X growth in the number of transactions on these sites post November 8 last year. ”

While the survey indicates a rise in willingness to shop grocery online, not all consumers are ditching the trip to the offline shops. 31 per cent still feel concerned about the quality of online products, 26 per cent are not sure about the return policy whereas 20 per cent prefer to inspect products themselves before buying.

The survey also revealed that almost 61 per cent respondents shop for groceries weekly and a majority of them spend between Rs 500 – 2,000 per month.

The survey was conducted at a pan-India level with 53 per cent male and 47 per cent female participants. A majority of the participants were over 35 years of age and were employed.